Mike Berman's Random Thoughts and Opinions

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Great Harvest Bread

I bought a loaf of bread today at Great Harvest Bread.

I guess it's debatable whether the small loaf was worth $7, but my bigger issue was the sign that proudly said "We use Non-GMO wheat". Of course, to anyone who understands GMOs, this sign is basicially saying "we like using extra pesticides to get lower crop yields with more disease and less nutrition".

I researched this a little more when I got home, and found this blog post further trumpeting their proud non-GMO claims.

The first half of the blog post states that they have tested their wheat and proven that it is GMO free. I don't see how you can prove something like that, and their description gives none of the detail as to how they claim to have done this (other than the vague statement that "there really is no GMO wheat commercially available in the United States"). None of the tests claimed in this blog post are sourced at all.

Then they go on to state that their wheat is a hybrid, which "is being confused with genetic modification, which is inaccurate". It is true that such a comparison is inaccurate, because hybrids are worse than GMOs. Their wheat hybrids are a result of farmers creating uncontrolled genetic changes in the wheat through selective breeding and cultivation. In other words, a similar result to a GMO but less targeted and not subject to the testing that is required of GMOs. And that is better how?